[3] Barut was born in Nicosia on 14 February 1919, as the second of the three children of Mehmet Recep Bey, the chief imam of the Saint Sophia's Mosque, and Emine Hanım, a housewife.
She then graduated from the Victoria Girls' High School and wanted to pursue a career as a pharmacist, but as the British government had changed policy at the time and did not accept pharmaceutical training at Cypriot hospital, her hopes were dashed.
This proved to be very controversial in a very patriarchal society, some reacted to this with vitriol and claimed that it would not be allowed for them to pray behind her father.
Mithat Bey, a writer at the newspaper Söz, saw these reactions as absurd and became a staunch advocate for Barut, eventually leading to her gaining acceptance in society.
[3] Before the opening of her shop, she staged the adaptation of a popular Turkish play, Aşık Garip, with an amateur crew she established with her friends.